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Topic Review (Newest First)

06-11-2002 01:02 PM

maxcontax

Sailing a C-15 Singlehanded

Dumping a dinghy is all part of sailing lessons: How to right it:
1. Release the mainsheet and jib cleats or the water in the sails will never allow it to be righted.
2. so the boat does not turtle, tie a cheap basketball in a little net to the main halyard for floatation at the masthead.
3. grab the bowline (painter) and point the boat head to wind
4. NOW, when you lever on the centerboard, and the boat pops up--and it will, it won''t take off on you, or roll over on top of you.
5. hook a leg over and barrel-roll into the cockpit.
6. leave the boat in irons until you sort out the sheets, tiller, and yourself. take a break.
7. open the scuppers and sail off on a broad reach under jib only until you lose some water, or else it will wallow, deathroll, drag the end of the boom--and you get to do it all over again.

Main cause of dumping a dinghy is cleating in the mainsheet. if you have to, keep your hand on it at all times, and when you feel it going over, just release the main, and save the day (usually).

play hard, play safe

03-06-2002 08:00 AM

bobraym

Sailing a C-15 Singlehanded

I recently capsized and turtled my Hunter 140 on a lake in Tennessee. The wind was horrible that day (over 15 knots) and I should not have been out alone but I did. I was not able to uncleat the mainsheet when I went over. When I swam around and uncleated it, the boat promptly turtled on me...almost immediately. I then tried to use my rudder to pull myself on top (I weigh about 225) to pull out the centerboard and the rudder fittings/bushing broke and the rudder sank. I tried to pull a jibsheet across the boat and pull it up to get to the centerboard but the water was too rough. What the heck did I do wrong? This boat is not even a year old. We got it out of the water but I had to release the jib/forestay and allow the mast to fall back before we could get her out.

07-25-2001 07:44 PM

smw

Sailing a C-15 Singlehanded

I realize this is an old message but, perhaps for the benefit of others, I wanted to share a few thoughts. First I should make clear I don''t have any personal experience sailing let alone righting a C-15, however, based on similar boats an adult male who is in reasonable shape shouldn''t have too much difficulty righting such a boat under most conditions. Many others should be able to manage without trouble too.

The best technique is usually to get leverage on the centerboard if you can. If the boat hasn''t gone turtle this just means swimming around to the centerboard side and grab hold. Do so quickly if you have the chance as the boat might still soon go turtle. The boat should easily right.

If the boat has gone turtle it can be more difficult but shouldnít be too much of a concern on such a boat. First make sure the sheets are free. This will help ensure that the sails don''t resist your righting attempt and that the wind won''t catch your sails and knock the boat down again.

You will normally have to get on top of the bottom of the boat. This and getting back in the boat can be the most difficult part. If you have a sturdy fitting near the stern you might carry and tie off a small piece or rope that you can make into a loop to use as a toehold to give you a boost up. Study your boat to see what you might be able to do in this regard because it can make righting many boats much easier. This also brings up one more good reason to wear a life jacket. It will help float you a little higher in the water making it just a little easier to pull yourself up.

Once on the boat you can usually get a handhold on the centerboard and pull it out if it has dropped into the trunk provided that it isn''t cleated in the up position. If necessary you can try swimming under to release it or lock it into the "down position" (pointing up) if you can''t get a handhold from on top of the boat and the design permits it. If you can get the board out just hang on while leaning outward (take advantage of any wave action) and eventually it should start to break free and come up out of the water. This may take a while and at first it might seem like the thing isnít going to budge. If you are lucky you can scramble into the cockpit as the boat rights using the centerboard as a step or sorts. If not usually you will want to pull yourself in near the center of the boat by grabbing hold of the hiking straps or something. Sometimes you can pull yourself in at the stern but with most designs this is much harder. Again a small piece of rope with a loop for your foot tied to something in the cockpit (e.g., to the hiking strap) can make all the difference in the world.

If you can''t get a hold of the center board one technique that is sometimes suggested is to take the painter and wrap it around the outer shroud and lean outward on the opposite side of the boat while pulling. Using the trapeze line as suggested might be an excellent variant on this idea since it will give you extra leverage. In some cases you might need to attach extra line to make it long enough so that you can stand on the far edge of the boat.

Look through any good small boat sailing book and there should be a section on capsize and righting techniques. Study these and think about ways that you might use an extra rope or existing line as a toehold. If you can practice while you have help standing by you can figure out what problems you might encounter and develop confidence that you can handle a capsize on your own. Just make sure you have enough water, as you do not want to risk damaging your mast by getting it stuck in the muck. Getting the mast stuck is also a good way to make self-rescue difficult or impossible.

Besides taking steps to ensure you donít capsize in the first place the next best bet is to ensure you donít turtle if you do capsize since this can be problematic with some boat designs or if the mast gets stuck in the bottom. To help guard against turtling sailors of small centerboard boats should give serious consideration to getting a floatation panel and using it always if there is any concern about righting their turtled boat. A flotation panel is basically two panels of custom fit high-density flotation sewn together on two or three sides that fits over the top of your main sail. It gets pulled up the mast with the mainsail and is intended to prevent the boat from going turtle under most conditions. With a price tag of between $100 to $200 dollars on the surface it may seem rather pricey but in many cases it seems well worth it. I use one on my Johnson 18 and because I am concerned about righting the boat if it goes turtle, especially by myself, I wouldnít sail without it. For a C-15 or similar a floatation panel would probably be around $100.

Sorry about the length. Hope this helps.

05-23-2001 06:33 PM

marrk

Sailing a C-15 Singlehanded

makesure the top end of the mast is sealed get some spray foam in a can and do it yourself. if your going over aim with your foot for the centerboard where it exits the hull on the bottom,not farther out, grab the shroud and start leaning!!!! hopefully you where able to release the main sheet before goin over! as the boat starts to come over swing yourself back aboard and hopefully all thats happend is the cockpits wet.this is a really cool manuver when you pull it off and if anyone sees you do it the''ll think you knew what you where doing the whole time!!

05-22-2001 09:35 AM

dws

Sailing a C-15 Singlehanded

I bought a C-15 recently hoping to use it for family outings, but the crew (wife & daughter) bailed on me... seems they don''t like the idea of capsizing.

I''m hoping to be able to continue to get to know the boat and do some single handed sailing, but my primary concern at this point is righting the boat by myself should she go over.

I''m fairly confident I can handle the boat alone in moderate winds, but I know the occasional gust could and probably will happen, resulting in swim time.

The boat has trapeze gear, so I''m thinking that maybe if I can stand on the centerboard or gunwale and pull the mast up with the trapeze line, she would come up..?

Anyone had any experience sailing a C-15 single handed and righting one by themselves..?